Gears 2 MANIA!!!

Gears 2 MANIA!!!

I have no clue why it's taken me a couple of years to get an itch to
write a blog at 1up, but I guess the inescapable hype that is Gears of
War 2 has bitten me. Someone break out the cortizone...

I just finished the campaign. The credits literally just finished
rolling... and man, did they take long. It was reminiscent of a
movie's ending credits, but with the devs'
little sentimental notes sprinkled throughout. Aww. There's
a nifty little cliffhanger after the credits (of course), but don't
worry... no spoilers here. I just hope that this cliffhanger means
what I think it means for Gears 3....

Anyway, I really didn't play the first one much, but now I'd like to
have dinner with it, maybe take it to a movie, then back to the house
for a little... well, ya know.

To share some perspective on the characters: I thought that they gave
off a macho, chest-bump, patriotic type of vibe before I got to know
the game. But I was actually surprised at how much heart they poured
into these guys. The storyline is wafer-thin, sure... but there's
admittedly something charming about the bond that these guys have, and
they go through little emotional bouts through which they act as
pillars for one another, etc. etc. Yeah, it's cliched as hell, but
relieving that they aren't just mindless, bloodthirsty brutes.

I tried out multiplayer online, and had to wait 10 minutes or more
just to get a game started (servers are biiizzzzzzaaaayyyy). I felt
nice and confident, seeing how I'm pretty good at shooters, and kick
ass at some Tom Clancy games online.... I wasn't prepared for the Teen
Bop clique that served me my own ass. Sticky-grendading little
bastards obviously played the freaking red-rings out of the first. I'm
not so sure how much of a devotee I'll be to the frag-fests... I feel
much more comfy with my Vegas skills for now, and I've been too busy
lately to really make a commitment to this stuff. Maybe later?

Overall, this game was a pretty kick-ass experience, and one of the
best co-op experiences ever. I'm slightly annoyed by the rampant hype
surrounding it, because as much ass as it kicked, those killer-high
expectations seem to dull the excellence just a bit. That's the world
we live in, though... we're becoming harder and harder to amaze.
Hopefully, they'll hold back on the next Gears until the Xbox 720; I'd
hate to see them get tons of criticism for what would essentially be
another rehash with new skins. Let's see this beautiful creature evolve...